How safe are you driving past the border?

I used to go to Mexico just for lunch.

I lived in San Diego about 20 minutes from the border, and the best tacos in town were...well the ones out of town.

So some friends and I would go down for a quick bite.

Obviously I had car insurance at the time, so I figured my car would be fine no matter where I was.

About half way through the year my friend frightfully told me that it was unsafe to drive in Mexico and no one could help me if something went wrong. Me being 19, didn't really care.

Later I was planning a trip with a handful of people a little further south of the border, and I thought to myself, "I should probably look into that insurance thing before we go". You know, that little angel on your shoulder telling you it's the right thing to do.

Turns out that my worried friend was partially right. Typical car insurance follows you anywhere in the United States and into Canada. Which means your coverage takes a hard stop at the southern border. There is, however, an endorsement you can add to your policy that follows you across the southern border.

It is called a "Limited Mexico endorsement."

The reason it's limited is that it only covers you within 25 miles of the border. Any further south, and you're out of luck!

So if you're just heading to Rosarito for quick vacation, a little endorsement will do. But anywhere past that and I'd consider getting a true umbrella policy.